Rotating engine, lathes, and grinders, etc. have used various methods to lock the rotating work in or on chucks for rotation of the work. Chucks and collets have been used to capture and lock rotating work which must be shaped, ground and polished. In modern high productivity environments, the removal of finished work and the installation of a new work piece in engine, lathes, grinders, etc. or other rotating machinery may require substantial time, and it is to shorten the "down" time when the machine must undergo the removal and reloading of new work in the engine lathe that this invention is directed.
In the past, a mandrel was securely fastened to the rotating spindle of the engine lathe on which it is mounted and the mandrel must be expanded to fix the work on the mandrel. If the mandrel was of the type utilizing an expandable collet type chuck, the operator must fix the work to or on the chuck and then increase the diameter of the expanding collet to grip the work. This operation would normally be accomplished by the operator using a wrench to advance a screw mechanism that would pull and expanding conical surface into an expanding segmented tube of the expandable collet.
On the other hand, if the work is to be mounted on a chuck which is provided with jaws, which move in concert, the operator must insert a key into the chuck to release the work and a new work piece must be mounted on the chuck to permit work to be done on the newly installed work piece. The operator must use a key to expand the jaws of the chuck if the work is of the type having a central bore in which the expanding jaws may be inserted.
If the work is of sufficient size to require a crane to carry the work to the engine lathe, considerable time and effort is required for the operator to mount and dismount the work in the engine lathe, and to assure that it is correctly mounted and centered.